Barcelona’s Ambitious Low Emissions Zone To Ban Most Polluting Vehicles

Barcelona opened the biggest low-emissions zone in southern Europe after New Year’s Day. The area of more than 95 km² is 20 times the size of Madrid’s zone and covers the entire metropolis.

Since January 2, the petrol cars registered before 2000 and diesel cars bought before 2006 are banned from entering in Barcelona. The prohibition last from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., although weekends and holidays are exempted.  

The city council estimates that the traffic restrictions will affect some 50,000 cars this year and plans to increase the prohibition of the most polluting vehicles gradually.

The prohibition also applies for foreign vehicles, meaning that tourists must register their cars before entering in Barcelona and meet the environmental standards.

Only vehicles for people with reduced mobility and emergency services such as police, firemen and ambulances are permitted. Owners that do not meet the requirements can request up to 10 individual permits on annual basis, each valid for one-day access.

A “grace period” will be granted until January 2021 to delivery transport and those who can prove an income below €8,000 ($8,892) per year.  

In order to encourage the withdrawal of the most polluting vehicles, the city council has offered the owners the possibility of giving up their old cars in exchange for a free three-year public transport card.

EU cities are joining the fights against air pollution

The aim of the low emission zone is to reduce nitrogen dioxide (NO²) emissions by 15% in one year. “This is one of the municipal measures to ensure the quality of the air we breathe and guarantee the right to health in the city,” the city council explained.

Air pollution causes more than 10,000 deaths every year in Spain and some 7 million worldwide, according the World Health Organization (WHO). In Barcelona, the poor air quality is responsible for more than 350 premature deaths annually.

Dozens of European cities including Paris, London, Berlin, and Brussels have launched similar low emissions zones. In Spain, Madrid was the pioneer with the implementation of ‘Madrid Central’, the capital’s low emission zone that reduced pollution by 20% in its first year of existence.          

Clash between Madrid and Barcelona

The mayor of Madrid José Luis Martínez-Almeida of the conservative People’s Party (PP) has described Barcelona’s low emission zone as ” disappointing”, noting that despite being bigger it is “less restrictive than Madrid’s zone”.

Almeida, who unsuccessfully tried to overturn the implementation of Madrid Central when he came to power in 2019, has ended up recognizing the benefits of the measure. However, the president of the Community of Madrid Isabel Díaz Ayuso (PP) keeps denying the discourse on climate change.

“Nobody has died from air pollution. I don’t want a public health alarm, because there isn’t one,” Ayuso said in a controversial radio interview early this month.

Barcelona’s mayor Ada Colau of the citizen municipal platform Barcelona En Comú has responded the criticism of his Madrid counterpart twitting: “The Mayor of Madrid says he wants to promote a more ambitious low-emissions zone than that of Barcelona? This is a competition that is worth the effort: Let’s see who can reduce pollution the most!”

So far, the low emissions zone has not produced the desired effect in Barcelona. One week after the measure entered into force, the traffic was reduced by 2.4 %. This figure is far from meeting the expectations.

The local government hopes this will change from April, when fines of between €100 ($111) and €1,800 ($2,001) will be imposed. More than one hundred traffic signals and cameras have been installed to ensure compliance within the restricted area.